Seong Eun Jeong of Korea set the early bar on Wednesday with a first-round 5-under 67 at the ICTSI Philippines Ladies Masters presented by Worldwide Link.

The ICTSI Philippines Ladies Masters is a three-way co-sanctioned event by the TLPGA Tour, the LPGT (Ladies Philippine Golf Tour), and the Korea LPGA’s Dream Tour. The 54-hole battle at The Country Club Sta Rosa, Laguna, provides a total prizemoney of $200,000.

A group of four player sit one shot adrift at 4-under 68 with Korean Kim Na Hyun, Thai rookie Pattharat Rattanawan, fellow Thai and TLPGA Tour veterans Parinda Phokan and Nook Sukapan looming to snatch the lead in any moment.

Home hope Pauline del Rosario shot five birdies, offset by two bogeys, to sit in a tie for sixth with Korea’s Han Nak Young.

Turning in the lowest score on Day 1 among the sixteen TLPGA members was Wang Li-Ning (王莉甯), who returned to the clubhouse in a tie for eighth on 2-under 70.

One-time LPGA’s Epson Tour winner Seong Eun Jeong is accustomed to the playing environments in the Philippines. “Even though I’ve never visited The Country Club, I used to live here in the Philippines, playing at many local clubs, and I feel I have better preparedness than others,” said Seong. “I started out so well, right with a chip-in birdie on my second hole. It gave me great confidence going forward in front of today’s challenges.”

Seong committed just one bogey on her second-to-last hole on the 8th, and regrouped quickly to close the round with her sixth birdie on the day on the final 9th hole.

Thailand’s Phokan will be looking for her third TLPGA Tour victory this week in Laguna. The 28-year-old held the lead through seventeen holes on 5-under par but the final-hole bogey took her down into equal second.

“I shouldn’t have needed three putts on that final hole. It was a great first day at the office nonetheless. I gave my 100% best,” said the 2019 Hitachi Ladies Classic and SAMPO Ladies Open champion.

Nook Sukapan has also been a steady performer on the TLPGA Tour. Today, she hit 10 fairways and 14 greens for another solid round of 68. “It was very hot and humid, but better than playing in rainy conditions like yesterday’s,” Sukapan said. “I feel I didn’t have any shot which let me down. Everything went exactly what I wanted. I’m pleased with how I started here.”

Taiwan’s Wang Li-Ning, going out on the 10th tee, endured a roller-coaster front nine with three birdies and three bogeys. “I found the green-side sand straps a little tricky for me, because I couldn’t find a stable distance control and tempo and I was overhitting the ball. They had me under a lot of pressure,” said Wang, who registered a 70 to sit in equal eighth. “But I really was trying to look more carefully at the basics and make sure I was doing every little motion right. And fortunately, it went better and better on the last nine as I gained more control over my game.”

Son Yeon Jung recorded a hole-in-one today on the 125-yard long No.6, winning a bonus $300 provided by the LPGT. The Korean finished the first round also in the crowded nine-way tie for eighth.

The stellar international field saw 132 players from six nations vie for the special triple-tour crown this week, which includes a 16-woman TLPGA contingent featuring leading Taiwanese golfers Chang Wenny Ching-Ling (張靖翎), Chen Chih-Min (陳之敏), Huang Ching (黃靖), and Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒).

The previously TLPGA Tour and LPGT co-sanctioned partnership is now joined by the Korea LPGA’s second-tier Dream Tour. After the TLPGA Tour was accepted into the WWGR (World Women’s Golf Rankings) system in July of 2014, the 2015 ICTSI Ladies Masters (formerly known as ITCSI Ladies Open) became the Tour’s first co-sanctioned event to offer world ranking points.